Portrait of Felicia Hemans (1873), Wikimedia Commons
Overview Felicia Hemans’ poem, “The Grave of a Poetess” was published 1828 in Records of Woman: With Other Poems. The elegiac poem was written as a tribute to Mary Tighe (1772-1810), a successful Irish female poet, whose career preceded, and arguably helped shape, Hemans'. She depicts Tighe as the typical “poetess”: a suffering female poet who writes about feminine subjects, such as nature and an unhappy life. The poem begins with the speaker lamenting the beauty the poetess is missing in her death. The poem moves from mourning this loss to celebrating it, justifying this view by reasoning that female poets cannot be happy in love and simultaneously be appreciated for their poetry. As Susan Brown states in her essay, "The Victorian Poetess," for women, poetry is "a mode, not an occupation" (181). The description of Tighe’s grave as “lowly” (1) and the insinuation that her contemporaries did not value her poetry is ironic; Tighe’s actual gravesite (also see here) is elaborate, and, as Perkins points out, her poetry was well received by such critics as Thomas Moore and John Keats (Oxford Dictionary of National Biography). This contradiction emphasizes the role expected of women in the 19th century, which is exemplified in the final stanza: "Where couldst thou fix on mortal ground / Thy tender thoughts and high?" (49-50). Hemans’s poem encapsulates the ideal woman poet and the subject s appropriate for poetess poetry.
Synopsis The poem begins at the poetess’ grave describing the surrounding scenery. Hemans' use of feminine diction and spring imagery creates an idyllic and peaceful scene: "All happy things that love the sunIn the bright air glanced by,And a glad murmur seemed to run At line 12, the poem turns mournful, lamenting that Tighe cannot appreciate the picturesque setting around her. The fact that Hemans is addressing a woman is made clear in line 14: “whose woman’s mind.” She goes on to define Tighe as a poet, and later in line 21 suggests that her subject matter consisted of “song and bloom.” Hemans emphasizes the idea of a barrier between the poetess and the living world by juxtaposing the image of the bird and insect with the lifeless poet:Through the soft azure sky." (5-8) "The bird and the insect on the wing,In their bright and reckless play,Might feel the flush and life of spring –And thou wert passed away." (25-28) The mood of the poem, as well as the focus of the speaker’s thoughts, change in the next stanza. Whereas previously the speaker’s thoughts are directed towards the dead poetess and the sadness of her inability to participate in life, they are now internalized as she assesses the way her own emotions are changing. She judges that where the poetess is now she cannot feel emotion and cannot give “vain love to passing flowers” (41) as she did in life. This "vain love" refers to the fact that all on earth decays, and implies that Tighe was discouraged by criticism. Line 46 reinforces this idea by insinuating that the poetess’ poetry was not given the respect it deserves. This contradicts the reality of Tighe’s poetry, thus Hemans' subversion of the reality is a personal comment on the lot of the female poet. The last line, “And joy the poet’s eye” (52), solidifies the poem as a personal reflection; through Tighe’s death and her contemplation of it, Hemans has created a work of art. Susan Brown makes a similar argument, suggesting that though Hemans sympathizes with Sappho’s “desolate grace” in “The Last Song of Sappho,” the undoing of Sappho is what allows her to create wonderful poetry through the emotions elicited by the figure (183).
The Poetess Tradition Poetess poetry was the dominant mode for female poets in the first half of the 19th century, and those who wrote outside the tradition were less likely to be published. The poetess mode is commonly full of gushing emotion – including faints, sighs, and tears – and speaks overtly of private rather than political subjects, though poetess poetry can also have implicit political meaning. The mode was often used by woman poets to comment on other female figures. The poetess figure is modelled on Greek woman poet, Sappho, particularly because of her association with unhappiness in fame and love. In the Princeton Encyclopedia of Poetry and Poetics, Yopie Prins points out that successful female writers were often named the “Sappho of their time” (1052). “Grave of a Poetess” fits within the Poetess tradition insofar as it comments on another female figure, Tighe, and uses natural imagery to express an excess of emotion. According to Yopie Prins, the term “poetess” was simply defined in the 16th century as “a woman who composes poetry” but developed in the 19th century to become an aesthetic category which both celebrates and belittles popular women working within the tradition (1052). The Poetess Archive, an online bibliography of primary and secondary sources concerning the Poetess, defines the term as a poetic tradition in which the poet conforms to a “feminine” and “bourgeois” aesthetic (Mandell). The website raises the issue of misogyny in the term, pointing out that the use of “ess” attached to poet is grammatically unnecessary in the English language, and therefore belittles the women by suggesting that they are not equal to their male counterparts. However, as the site also reveals, male poets and literary critics – such as Keats or Tennyson – were also writing within or against this tradition.
Literary Influence Hemans’ writing was influential for a number of women, and according to Yopie Prins served as a model for aspiring poetesses such as Elizabeth Barrett Browning (1052) – much in the same way the Sappho figure did. That is, she was an exemplary figure of the poetess. Victorians saw Hemans’ poetry as embodying the national and domestic values favoured in poetess poetry. Letitia E. Landon wrote an essay, “On the Character of Mrs Hemans,” and a poem, “Felicia Hemans,” about Hemans. She rejects the idea of Hemans as a purely domestic and national figure, detecting her unhappiness at the lot of the female poet, which is present in “The Grave of a Poetess.” Yopie Prins highlights Landon’s impression that Hemans’ own life and struggles seem to be represented in some way through her poetry (1052). As mentioned earlier, poetry for the poetess was not only a literary experience but also a mode of life (Brown 181); that is, the character of the poetess and the author were often blurred. Landon, whose own poetry is biographical in nature, would likely have identified with Hemans’ controversial marriage status and her public image. While Hemans was able to maintain a state of respectability – exemplified in the proper persona of “Mrs Hemans” – Landon was a greater subject of speculation in the public sphere.
Works Cited: Brown, Susan. “The Victorian Poetess.” The Cambridge Companion to Victorian Poetry. Ed. Joseph Bristow. Cambridge, NY: CUP, 2005. 180-202. Web. 12 April. 2015. Mandell, Laura. The Poetess Archive. NINES. 2006. Web. 12 April. 2015. Perkins, Pam. “Mary Tighe.” Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. 2004. Web. 12 April. 2015. Prins, Yopie. "Poetess." The Princeton Encyclopedia of Poetry and Poetics: Fourth Edition. Ed. Roland Greene. New Jersey: Princeton University, 2012. Web. 12 April. 2015. Sweet, Nanora. “Hemans, Felicia Dorothea.” Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. 2004. Web. 12 April. 2015.
Overview
Felicia Hemans’ poem, “The Grave of a Poetess” was published 1828 in Records of Woman: With Other Poems. The elegiac poem was written as a tribute to Mary Tighe (1772-1810), a successful Irish female poet, whose career preceded, and arguably helped shape, Hemans'. She depicts Tighe as the typical “poetess”: a suffering female poet who writes about feminine subjects, such as nature and an unhappy life. The poem begins with the speaker lamenting the beauty the poetess is missing in her death. The poem moves from mourning this loss to celebrating it, justifying this view by reasoning that female poets cannot be happy in love and simultaneously be appreciated for their poetry. As Susan Brown states in her essay, "The Victorian Poetess," for women, poetry is "a mode, not an occupation" (181). The description of Tighe’s grave as “lowly” (1) and the insinuation that her contemporaries did not value her poetry is ironic; Tighe’s actual gravesite (also see here) is elaborate, and, as Perkins points out, her poetry was well received by such critics as Thomas Moore and John Keats (Oxford Dictionary of National Biography). This contradiction emphasizes the role expected of women in the 19th century, which is exemplified in the final stanza: "Where couldst thou fix on mortal ground / Thy tender thoughts and high?" (49-50). Hemans’s poem encapsulates the ideal woman poet and the subject
s appropriate for poetess poetry.
Synopsis
The poem begins at the poetess’ grave describing the surrounding scenery. Hemans' use of feminine diction and spring imagery creates an idyllic and peaceful scene:
"All happy things that love the sunIn the bright air glanced by,And a glad murmur seemed to run
At line 12, the poem turns mournful, lamenting that Tighe cannot appreciate the picturesque setting around her. The fact that Hemans is addressing a woman is made clear in line 14: “whose woman’s mind.” She goes on to define Tighe as a poet, and later in line 21 suggests that her subject matter consisted of “song and bloom.” Hemans emphasizes the idea of a barrier between the poetess and the living world by juxtaposing the image of the bird and insect with the lifeless poet:Through the soft azure sky." (5-8)
"The bird and the insect on the wing,In their bright and reckless play,Might feel the flush and life of spring –And thou wert passed away." (25-28)
The mood of the poem, as well as the focus of the speaker’s thoughts, change in the next stanza. Whereas previously the speaker’s thoughts are directed towards the dead poetess and the sadness of her inability to participate in life, they are now internalized as she assesses the way her own emotions are changing. She judges that where the poetess is now she cannot feel emotion and cannot give “vain love to passing flowers” (41) as she did in life. This "vain love" refers to the fact that all on earth decays, and implies that Tighe was discouraged by criticism. Line 46 reinforces this idea by insinuating that the poetess’ poetry was not given the respect it deserves. This contradicts the reality of Tighe’s poetry, thus Hemans' subversion of the reality is a personal comment on the lot of the female poet. The last line, “And joy the poet’s eye” (52), solidifies the poem as a personal reflection; through Tighe’s death and her contemplation of it, Hemans has created a work of art. Susan Brown makes a similar argument, suggesting that though Hemans sympathizes with Sappho’s “desolate grace” in “The Last Song of Sappho,” the undoing of Sappho is what allows her to create wonderful poetry through the emotions elicited by the figure (183).
The Poetess Tradition
Poetess poetry was the dominant mode for female poets in the first half of the 19th century, and those who wrote outside the tradition were less likely to be published. The poetess mode is commonly full of gushing emotion – including faints, sighs, and tears – and speaks overtly of private rather than political subjects, though poetess poetry can also have implicit political meaning. The mode was often used by woman poets to comment on other female figures. The poetess figure is modelled on Greek woman poet, Sappho, particularly because of her association with unhappiness in fame and love. In the Princeton Encyclopedia of Poetry and Poetics, Yopie Prins points out that successful female writers were often named the “Sappho of their time” (1052). “Grave of a Poetess” fits within the Poetess tradition insofar as it comments on another female figure, Tighe, and uses natural imagery to express an excess of emotion.
According to Yopie Prins, the term “poetess” was simply defined in the 16th century as “a woman who composes poetry” but developed in the 19th century to become an aesthetic category which both celebrates and belittles popular women working within the tradition (1052). The Poetess Archive, an online bibliography of primary and secondary sources concerning the Poetess, defines the term as a poetic tradition in which the poet conforms to a “feminine” and “bourgeois” aesthetic (Mandell). The website raises the issue of misogyny in the term, pointing out that the use of “ess” attached to poet is grammatically unnecessary in the English language, and therefore belittles the women by suggesting that they are not equal to their male counterparts. However, as the site also reveals, male poets and literary critics – such as Keats or Tennyson – were also writing within or against this tradition.
Literary Influence
Hemans’ writing was influential for a number of women, and according to Yopie Prins served as a model for aspiring poetesses such as Elizabeth Barrett Browning (1052) – much in the same way the Sappho figure did. That is, she was an exemplary figure of the poetess. Victorians saw Hemans’ poetry as embodying the national and domestic values favoured in poetess poetry.
Letitia E. Landon wrote an essay, “On the Character of Mrs Hemans,” and a poem, “Felicia Hemans,” about Hemans. She rejects the idea of Hemans as a purely domestic and national figure, detecting her unhappiness at the lot of the female poet, which is present in “The Grave of a Poetess.” Yopie Prins highlights Landon’s impression that Hemans’ own life and struggles seem to be represented in some way through her poetry (1052). As mentioned earlier, poetry for the poetess was not only a literary experience but also a mode of life (Brown 181); that is, the character of the poetess and the author were often blurred. Landon, whose own poetry is biographical in nature, would likely have identified with Hemans’ controversial marriage status and her public image. While Hemans was able to maintain a state of respectability – exemplified in the proper persona of “Mrs Hemans” – Landon was a greater subject of speculation in the public sphere.
Works Cited:
Brown, Susan. “The Victorian Poetess.” The Cambridge Companion to Victorian Poetry. Ed. Joseph Bristow. Cambridge, NY: CUP, 2005. 180-202. Web. 12 April. 2015.
Mandell, Laura. The Poetess Archive. NINES. 2006. Web. 12 April. 2015.
Perkins, Pam. “Mary Tighe.” Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. 2004. Web. 12 April. 2015.
Prins, Yopie. "Poetess." The Princeton Encyclopedia of Poetry and Poetics: Fourth Edition. Ed. Roland Greene. New Jersey: Princeton University, 2012. Web. 12 April. 2015.
Sweet, Nanora. “Hemans, Felicia Dorothea.” Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. 2004. Web. 12 April. 2015.